How Often Do You Sharpen Your Hoof Knife?

[DRTail33]

How often are you sharpening your hoof knife during a typical work week? I feel like mine dulls way too fast even though I don’t trim more than a few horses a week.

 

[seanj]

I don't own horses, but Horsewright should be able to answer your question.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I didn't do farrier work myself but owned horses and have watched the farriers do their job countless times, in addition to having taken a course on how to do it. Based on that knowledge, I'd say you should be sharpening it OFTEN. You're cutting silica-embedded fibrous material with a push cut, and the steels used in those knives are typically not the most carbide-rich, so you're going to RAPIDLY experience edge wear. I'd be touching it up at every opportunity you have, really. A little work done very frequently will keep it performing its best vs. allowing it to degrade too far and then needing to do serious repair of the geometry, which is much more of a chore on blades with complex shapes like hoof knives.

 

[Horsewright]

Sorry for the late reply. Been busy all day for the last couple well.....with horses. Rode all day yesterday and today was doing some prep work before the dirt work guys shows up to start on a new arena.

I didn't do farrier work myself but owned horses and have watched the farriers do their job countless times, in addition to having taken a course on how to do it. Based on that knowledge, I'd say you should be sharpening it OFTEN. You're cutting silica-embedded fibrous material with a push cut, and the steels used in those knives are typically not the most carbide-rich, so you're going to RAPIDLY experience edge wear. I'd be touching it up at every opportunity you have, really. A little work done very frequently will keep it performing its best vs. allowing it to degrade too far and then needing to do serious repair of the geometry, which is much more of a chore on blades with complex shapes like hoof knives.

I've basically got the same answer for ya as FortyTwoBlades. While I'm not a farrier I've watched a million times. I've even made several sets of hoof knives. Most of the guys I've made em for have me make a left and a right handed knife. Made quite a few farrier aprons too come to think of it. Hoof knives are designed to be sharpened often. My farrier has a buffer on his truck and he uses that to touch up his knives. Lots of guys use small files.

Hope that helps some.